Meal preparation in the United States can mean cooking, assembling food, and cleaning up, but official measures do not always use the same definition. The latest BLS time-use results show how much time people spend on food preparation and cleanup, while USDA sources add context on work location, eating places, convenience foods, and diet quality.
Key Meal Preparation Statistics
The following highlights cover the most useful U.S. measures across time use, households, work, food choices, and eating patterns:
- In 2025, people age 15 and older spent 0.71 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup in the U.S. civilian population.
- In 2025, 65.2% of U.S. people age 15 and older participated in food preparation and cleanup on an average day.
- In 2025, participants averaged 1.09 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup among U.S. people age 15 and older who did the activity.
- In 2025, men averaged 0.51 hours per day and women 0.91 hours on food preparation and cleanup in the U.S. population age 15 and older.
- In 2025, 57.9% of men and 72.2% of women participated daily in food preparation and cleanup in the U.S. population age 15 and older.
- In 2025, food preparation and cleanup averaged 0.70 hours per weekday and 0.74 hours per weekend or holiday day for U.S. people age 15 and older.
- In 2025, people age 35–44 averaged 1.98 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup in the United States.
- In 2025, employed adults with a household child under 18 averaged 0.74 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup in the United States.
- In 2025, employed adults with no household children under 18 averaged 0.58 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup in the United States.
- In 2025, not-employed adults with a household child under 18 averaged 1.39 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup in the United States.
- In 2017–18, 75% of prime working-age adults working from home prepared food on an average weekday in the United States.
- In 2017–18, adults working from home spent 41 minutes preparing food on an average weekday in the United States.
- In 2014, suppers served at home that were actually cooked at home were below 60% in the United States.
- In 2023, 76.3% of primary eating and drinking occurred at one’s own home or yard among U.S. people age 15 and older.
- U.S. adults reported 3.7 food-away-from-home meals in the prior seven days in 2017–March 2020.
- U.S. adults reported ready-to-eat foods 2.2 times in the prior 30 days in 2017–March 2020.
- Replacing one home-prepared meal with a food-away-from-home meal was associated with about 134 additional calories per day in a USDA ERS estimate for U.S. adults.
- U.S. people age 15 and older spent 82.5 minutes per day on combined primary and secondary eating and drinking in 2023.
Contents
- Key Meal Preparation Statistics
- Meal Preparation Time and Daily Participation
- Meal Preparation Data by Age, Sex, and Race or Ethnicity
- Meal Preparation in Households With and Without Children
- Work Status and Meal Preparation Trends
- Home-Prepared Meals, Eating Locations, and Food-Away-From-Home Data
- Convenience Foods and Meal Preparation Choices
- Meal Preparation, Diet Quality, and Eating Patterns
Meal Preparation Time and Daily Participation
The BLS American Time Use Survey measures food preparation and cleanup as a primary activity. That means simultaneous secondary activities are excluded, and participation means doing the activity on the diary day rather than preparing every meal.
In 2025, U.S. civilians age 15 and older spent 0.71 hours per day, or about 42.6 minutes, on food preparation and cleanup. The activity was reported by 65.2% of people on an average day, and those who participated averaged 1.09 hours.
| 2025 U.S. measure | All people age 15+ | Among participants |
|---|---|---|
| Food preparation and cleanup | 0.71 hours per day | 1.09 hours per day |
| Participation | 65.2% per day | — |
| Weekday food preparation and cleanup | 0.70 hours per day | 1.06 hours per day |
| Weekend or holiday food preparation and cleanup | 0.74 hours per day | 1.18 hours per day |
The daily participation rate was 66.2% on weekdays and 62.9% on weekend or holiday days. Weekend and holiday participants spent more time on the activity, while the overall average differed only modestly by day type.
Source: American Time Use Survey – 2025 Results.
By sex, men spent 0.51 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup in 2025, compared with 0.91 hours for women. Participation was 57.9% for men and 72.2% for women; among participants, men averaged 0.88 hours and women 1.26 hours.
These are BLS sex categories and time-use measures, not measures of cooking skill, responsibility, or meal quality.
Meal Preparation Data by Age, Sex, and Race or Ethnicity
Age-specific BLS results show different daily averages, but not every age row uses the same activity definition. The 15–19 through 35–44 figures below refer specifically to food preparation and cleanup, while the older figures refer to the broader household-activities category.
| Population, 2025 | Measure | Time per day |
|---|---|---|
| Age 15–19 | Food preparation and cleanup | 0.71 hours |
| Age 20–24 | Food preparation and cleanup | 1.37 hours |
| Age 25–34 | Food preparation and cleanup | 1.58 hours |
| Age 35–44 | Food preparation and cleanup | 1.98 hours |
| Age 65–74 | Household activities | 2.74 hours |
| Age 75+ | Household activities | 2.73 hours |
The race and ethnicity rows also use household activities rather than meal preparation alone. White people age 15 and older averaged 2.09 hours per day, Black or African American people averaged 1.42 hours, Asian people averaged 1.87 hours, and Hispanic or Latino people averaged 2.09 hours in 2025.
Sex-specific household-activities averages were 2.53 hours for White women and 1.64 hours for White men. The corresponding figures were 1.67 and 1.13 hours for Black women and men, 2.28 and 1.44 hours for Asian women and men, and 2.67 and 1.51 hours for Hispanic or Latino women and men.
These broader categories should not be rewritten as meal-preparation-only comparisons. Source: American Time Use Survey – 2025 Results.
Meal Preparation in Households With and Without Children
Household composition and employment status are closely separated in the 2025 BLS table. The figures below cover U.S. adults age 18 and older and measure primary food preparation and cleanup.
| Employment and household group, 2025 | Hours per day |
|---|---|
| Employed, child under 18 | 0.74 |
| Employed, youngest child under 6 | 0.73 |
| Employed, youngest child age 6–17 | 0.74 |
| Employed, no child under 18 | 0.58 |
| Not employed, child under 18 | 1.39 |
| Not employed, youngest child under 6 | 1.61 |
| Not employed, youngest child age 6–17 | 1.26 |
| Not employed, no child under 18 | 0.77 |
Among employed adults with a child under 18, men averaged 0.56 hours per day and women 0.94 hours. For employed adults with a youngest child under 6, the averages were 0.59 hours for men and 0.90 hours for women; with a youngest child age 6–17, they were 0.54 and 0.97 hours.
Among employed adults without a household child under 18, men averaged 0.48 hours and women 0.69 hours. The not-employed figures were higher for households with children: 1.61 hours when the youngest child was under 6 and 1.26 hours when the youngest child was 6–17, compared with 0.77 hours when there was no child under 18.
Source: American Time Use Survey – 2025 Results.
Work Status and Meal Preparation Trends
USDA ERS analysis of 2017–18 American Time Use Survey worksite data compared prime working-age adults working from home with those working away from home on average weekdays. It found higher reported food-preparation participation and time among the work-from-home group.
| 2017–18 average weekday | Worked from home | Worked away from home |
|---|---|---|
| Prepared food | 75% | 63% |
| Food-preparation time | 41 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Eating at home | 49 minutes | 27 minutes |
The worksite is the interview-day worksite, and the source discusses food preparation rather than all kitchen labor. Eating-at-home time is not identical to cooking time.
Source: People spent more time preparing food and eating at home when working from home, 2017-18.
Historical estimates provide a longer perspective but are not a directly comparable modern series. USDA ERS cites 65 minutes per day for meal preparation and cleanup among U.S. adults age 18 and older in 1965 and 37 minutes in 2014; the definitions differ from later ATUS tables.
The same USDA ERS chapter cites estimates that 75% of suppers served at home were actually cooked at home in 1984, compared with below 60% in 2014. The measure excludes suppers assembled or reheated rather than cooked, and historical definitions may not match perfectly.
Source: America’s Eating Habits: Food Away From Home, EIB-196, Chapter 1.
Home-Prepared Meals, Eating Locations, and Food-Away-From-Home Data
Food-away-from-home meals and eating location are related to meal preparation, but neither measure directly identifies whether a meal was cooked at home. USDA ERS reports that U.S. adults reported 4.0 food-away-from-home meals in the prior seven days in 2007–08 and 3.7 in 2017–March 2020; the change was not statistically significant.
In 2023, 76.3% of primary eating and drinking episodes among U.S. people age 15 and older occurred at their own home or yard. The workplace accounted for 10.1%, restaurants or bars for 6.9%, someone else’s home for 3.2%, and school for 0.9%.
These location figures describe where eating occurred, not who prepared the food. Similarly, the food-away-from-home survey measure includes meals purchased or acquired away from home and is not identical to the share of meals cooked at home.
Sources: Food Consumption & Demand – Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey and Eating and Health Module (ATUS) – Summary Findings.
Convenience Foods and Meal Preparation Choices
USDA ERS survey results use different recall windows for different food choices. Away-from-home meals use the prior seven days, while ready-to-eat foods and frozen meals or pizzas use the prior 30 days.
| Food-choice measure | 2007–08 | 2017–March 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-eat foods, times in prior 30 days | 1.9 | 2.2 |
| Frozen meals or pizzas, times in prior 30 days | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| Food-away-from-home meals, times in prior 7 days | 4.0 | 3.7 |
Adults reported eating ready-to-eat foods 1.9 times in the prior 30 days in 2007–08 and 2.2 times in 2017–March 2020. USDA ERS says that increase was statistically significant.
Frozen meals or pizzas declined from 2.7 times in the prior 30 days in 2007–08 to 2.4 times in 2017–March 2020, a decrease USDA ERS describes as statistically significant. The frequencies are self-reported, and ready-to-eat foods include examples such as deli foods and prepared salads.
Source: Food Consumption & Demand – Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey.
Meal Preparation, Diet Quality, and Eating Patterns
USDA ERS estimates also connect home-prepared meals with modeled dietary outcomes. Replacing one meal prepared at home with a food-away-from-home meal was associated with about 134 additional calories per day and about a 2-point lower Healthy Eating Index score among U.S. adults.
These are association or model estimates, not randomized-trial effects. The Healthy Eating Index is a diet-quality score, not a direct meal-preparation measure.
Source: Food Consumption & Demand – Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey: diet-quality implications.
In 2023, U.S. people age 15 and older spent 66.2 minutes per day in primary eating and drinking and 16.4 minutes in secondary eating. Combined primary and secondary eating and drinking totaled 82.5 minutes per day.
Watching television and movies accompanied 22.8% of secondary eating episodes, while the main job accompanied 20.4%. Food and drink preparation accompanied 4.0% of secondary eating episodes, and about 3 in 10 people engaged in primary eating and drinking during each of the noon-to-12:59 p.m. and 6:00–6:59 p.m. peak blocks.
These are eating-pattern and concurrent-activity measures, not direct measures of meal-preparation prevalence. Source: Eating and Health Module (ATUS) – Summary Findings.